Winthrop offers pleasantries -- and a loss -- to some old friends

Winthrop forward K.J. Doucet had 23 points in Saturday's win against Coastal Carolina.  (Photo:  The Professional Photography Group/Winthrop Athletics)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – There are few greater pleasures than seeing old friends. Seeing them on the other side of the basketball court when they have a really good team, though – well, that may not be so great.

Justin Gray and Mark Prosser were both Winthrop assistants during the Eagles’ glory days under Pat Kelsey before Prosser went to Western Carolina – only to be replaced by Gray when he took the Winthrop job. Saturday night in Winthrop Coliseum, Gray – along with former Winthrop assistants Zack Freesman and Jayson Gee – brought the long-time rival Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to visit. There were plenty of hugs, smiles, and handshakes to go around, but a tremendous basketball game happened between the pleasantries.

Winthrop placed four scorers in double figures and withstood a sizzling second half from the Chants, brushing off a 62.1 percent shooting performance from Coastal in the closing 20 and claiming a 96-89 victory before a crowd of nearly 1,800.

“Every time you walk into an arena and somebody sees the (Winthrop) name on the front of your jersey, you’re going to get their best shot,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “For them to shoot what they shot, for them to score what they scored – there’s a lot that we can correct, and that’s on us, as coaches. Our kids are resilient. They didn’t blink in the face of adversity, which was fun to watch.”

Winthrop (8-3) fired the first salvo in what would be a back-and-forth 40-minute battle. The Eagles seized an early four-point lead, only for Coastal Carolina (4-5) to quickly erase the deficit. The visiting Chanticleers would lead by as many as seven in the opening stanza, cashing a Rasheed Jones triple to gain that advantage. The Chants hit five of their first six tries from distance, enabling them to create some early separation.

The homestanding Eagles charged back over the final seven minutes of the half. Winthrop counterpunched with a 24-8 sequence to claim a nine-point lead at the interval. Eight different Eagles scored during the run, with forward K.J. Doucet leading the way with 11. Doucet scored five of those 11 during the late-half burst.

“I feel that’s what makes us the most dangerous,” Doucet said. “Having so many people – not knowing who’s going to come out and kill you that night, just having so many options. That’s what makes us so dangerous as a team. I love that, going into that every night.”

Winthrop continued its momentum early into the closing period, inducing a stoppage from Gray just 1:10 into the period. The Eagles stretched their lead as high as 17 on a Doucet free throw just after the break. The double-figure Winthrop lead continued for several more minutes. Then, almost in stark contrast to the high tempo being shown on the court, the lead gradually began to melt.

The Chants scored points in bunches. Winthrop answered. Almost glacially, the deficit decreased. Josh Meo scored five in a row, followed by a Henry Abraham triple. The sequence cut the Eagle lead by more than half. Winthrop volleyed. Coastal returned serve. Four Doucet free throws and a bucket took it back to eight. Coastal reduced it to four. Winthrop took it back to eight.

Then, the shift happened.

A 78-70 Winthrop lead turned into an 80-80 tie in the span of three minutes, keyed by Jones and center Colin Granger. A Jordan Battle triple for Coastal brought the game level. The sides traded the lead for another two minutes, battling on every possession. Winthrop broke an 88-all tie with 1:54 to play, as Kelton Talford knocked home an and-one opportunity to afford the Eagles a one-possession lead.  The sides proceeded to go scoreless for the next 1:47 as the game hung in the balance.

Nick Johnson then decided he’d seen enough.

During a frenetic possession as the shot and game clocks slowly drained away, Winthrop guard Kasen Harrison took an inbounds pass in the backcourt and nearly lost possession on an errant dribble, then advanced under the basket and sprayed back out to Johnson, who squared up from the right side and knocked down the shot that knocked out the Chanticleers.

Nick Johnson called game pic.twitter.com/3cedvNYnoR

— Brian (@sportsmatters) December 8, 2024

“Whether it’s Nick, whether it’s Kasen, whether it’s K.J., whether it’s KT – whoever it is, we’ll continue to take advantage of those opportunities,” Prosser said. “When they step up and make plays, I’m not surprised. They work really hard. They deserve success, because they work for it.”

Winthrop shot 54.7 percent on the night (29-for-53), bolstered by a 31-for-40 (77.5 percent) effort from the line. The Eagles also compelled 12 Chanticleer turnovers while committing just five themselves, creating a 22-10 advantage off turnovers that helped turn the tide.

“I think (creating turnovers) is something that our defense can do,” Prosser said. “Obviously, it’s hard to say that when they scored eight million points today, but once we get the ball, we want to go, whether it’s a make or a miss. I felt like we turned defense into offense a few times well tonight. We’d like to do it more. Fortunately, we were able to make some more plays down the stretch.”

Doucet led all scorers with 23 on 6-of-10 shooting and 10-of-14 from the stripe. Talford also tried double-digit free throws and broke the 20-point barrier, scoring 21 on 5-of-10 from the field and 11-of-15 from the line. Talford also snagged six boards. Harrison contributed 19 and Johnson 15 in the victorious Winthrop effort. Winthrop added a 44-34 advantage on points in the paint to the strong result from Coastal miscues.

Jones led the five double-digit Coastal scorers, tallying 21 on 6-for-14 from the field (4-for-9 from three) and 5-for-7 from the line. Battle added 14, with Noah Amenhauser pouring in 13. Meo and Denzel Hines booked 10 apiece. The Chants shot 53.7 percent (29-for-54), canning 10-of-23 from distance (43.5 percent) and shooting 72.4 percent (21-for-29) from the stripe).

Both teams return to play against non-Division I foes in the middle of the week. Coastal hosts Southern Virginia Wednesday at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C., for a 7:00 tip, with streaming coverage on ESPN+. Winthrop welcomes Bob Jones to the Sports & Event Center in downtown Rock Hill Thursday night for a 6:30 start, with ESPN+ coverage also available.

WINTHROP 96, COASTAL CAROLINA 89

COASTAL CAROLINA (4-5)

Hines 2-4 6-6 10, Amenhauser 5-8 3-7 13, Jones 6-14 5-7 21, Meo 4-5 1-1 10, Battle 4-9 4-5 14, Abraham 2-3 0-0 6, Granger 3-4 0-1 6, Mulibea 2-5 0-0 4, Majak 0-0 2-2 2, Brown 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 29-54 21-29 89.

WINTHROP (8-3)

Talford 5-10 11-15 21, Doucet 6-10 10-14 23, Jones 2-4 0-0 5, Johnson 4-8 5-5 15, Harrison 8-12 1-1 19, Wilson 0-1 0-0 0, Hamilton 2-3 1-1 5, Baker 1-4 0-0 3, Jolly 0-0 2-2 2, Kamarad 0-0 0-0 0, Diallo 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 29-53 31-40 96.

Halftime:  Winthrop 48-39. 3-Point goals:  Coastal 10-23 (Hines 0-1, Jones 4-9, Meo 1-2, Battle 2-5, Abraham 2-3, Mulibea 0-2, Brown 1-1), Winthrop 7-17 (Doucet 1-5, Jones 1-3, Johnson 2-3, Harrison 2-2, Wilson 0-1, Baker 1-3). Fouled out:  Granger (CCU)  Rebounds:  Coastal 31 (Jones 7), Winthrop 28 (Talford 6). Total fouls:  Coastal 29, Winthrop 21. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Winthrop 22, Coastal 10.  Points in the paint:  Winthrop 44, Coastal 34. Second-chance points:  Coastal 14, Winthrop 10.  Fast-break points:  Winthrop 17, Coastal 11.  Bench points:  Coastal 21, Winthrop 13.